The Tunisia Sidi Daoud Wind Farm Project is a new wind farm located on the vicinity of the rural area of Sidi Daoud, near the city of El Haouaria, approximately 100 km north-east of Tunis. The project is owned and will be operated by the Société Tunisienne d’Electricité et de Gaz – STEG, the public power utility of Tunisia.

The project comprises 26 wind turbines of 1,320 kW each, with a total installed capacity of 34.32 MW. The project also includes a transformation substation aimed at upgrading the power generated by the turbines to 90 Kilovolts (kV), and the construction of a 22.5 km high voltage transmission line (90 kV) linking the wind farm to the nearest central transformation station of Menzel Temime 1 and connecting it to the Tunisian interconnected electricity grid. This transmission line will allow for transmitting the total amount of power generated by the project to the Tunisian electricity grid.

The project is expected to generate approximately 95,000 MWh per year, all of which is to be transmitted to the STEG grid. As the STEG grid is historically based on thermal power, using primarily natural gas, the project will make the grid cleaner and lead to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, which are estimated at approximately 50,000 metric tons of CO2-equivalent per year during the first 7-year crediting period.

The project will contribute to the sustainable development of Tunisia, through the following positive implications:

Environmental benefits:

Reducing GHG emission and other polluting gases, such as CH4, N2O, NOx, NMVOCs, CO, and SO2, that would have been emitted had the country’s electricity been generated by thermal plants.

Economic benefits:

Attracting foreign investment to promote the development of renewable energy in Tunisia.

Diversifying energy supply in Tunisia, through the development of the country’s first renewable energy project and demonstrating the potential, the feasibility and effectiveness of connecting wind power to the Tunisian interconnected grid.

Relying on domestic energy sources.

Reducing dependency on energy imports: the project will displace almost 95 GWh/year; i.e. 2000 GWh of electricity over the lifetime of the project. This electricity would have been generated using mainly imported fossil fuels. The switch to renewable energy will result in fuel savings of more than 400,000 tons of oil equivalent, over the life of the project (21 years).

Social benefits:

Creating local employment opportunities during the construction and installation phases of wind turbines. Furthermore, the project will, in particular, create four new permanent positions at the STEG site for project operation, in addition to other positions created by companies that will be subcontracted by STEG as a part of maintenance.

Enhancing the economic value of the area located within the project site with the development of diversified economic activities (e.g. tourism related). This will contribute to improving the living conditions of the local population.

Improved access to housing located in the vicinity of the project thanks to the roads and local infrastructure implemented on site.

Industrial and Long-term Strategic benefits:

Establishment of a technological and industrial partnership with a foreign wind turbine manufacturer, one of the world leaders in the industry. This partnership has facilitated the transfer of know-how and the involvement of Tunisian companies in the manufacture of certain parts of the equipment required for the wind farm, resulting in the integration of wind power technology in the Tunisian industry. Such partnership will create new opportunities for the Tunisian industry, in terms of development of capacities and expertise to implement, operate and maintain wind power technologies, at the national level and in the Mediterranean region.

Development of competence and experience within the public power utility STEG for the integration of intermittent energy sources such as wind power (or other renewable energy sources, including solar) into the Tunisian interconnected grid. This will facilitate the development of wind power projects on a larger scale in Tunisia.

Demonstration effect: In the absence of other incentives for the development of wind power, the registration of the Sidi Daoud Wind Farm Project as a CDM project will give a critical signal needed to encourage investment in wind power projects on a larger scale in Tunisia. This will also encourage a greater engagement by the population in the development of renewable energy projects and contribute to the achievement of national low carbon objectives in the energy sector.